Pest Control in Castro Valley, CA

How do retaining walls and decks on a slope get checked?

A retaining wall that holds soil against a house is a moisture and contact point. The walk checks the wall, its drain and any wood that sits in the soil behind it. A deck on posts on a slope is checked at each post base, because the ground falls away and the posts may be buried in soil on the downhill side.

Steps that run down a slope often rest on the soil at their lower end. Those are recorded as wood contacts and marked for clearance.

What do rats do on a hill lot?

A hill lot gives rats a run along the slope and the woodland edge, and the slope often leads the animal to a low entry at the foundation. The walk follows the slope down from the house and up from the lower edge, looking for runs and burrows.

Woodpiles and the stacks of cut brush near a house give rats cover, and the report recommends moving them away from the wall.

How does the woodland edge affect the walk?

Where a lot meets woodland, the vegetation gives rats and insects cover close to the house. The walk notes the distance from the vegetation to the wall and records any growth touching the eave or the deck.

A roof rat can reach the roof from a tree at the woodland edge, and the roof line is checked on those houses.

What should a Castro Valley caller prepare?

Tell the technician about the slope, the retaining walls and the decks, so the walk includes the low side of the house. Ask for the licence holder’s name and the county registration when booking.

Clear the path around the lower side of the house, because that is often the hardest part of the walk to reach.

The hillside lot and the drainage

A hillside lot drains down toward the lowest house on the street, and water can collect at the back wall. The walk reads the slope, the drainage path and any standing water at the foundation.

A retaining wall that is built too close to the house can trap moisture behind it, and the report records the wall, its drain and the wood beside it.

A hillside house can have its lower floor much closer to the ground than its upper floor, which changes what can be reached. The walk plans for the lower side first, because that is where the wood and the drainage meet the soil.

Castro Valley’s hill houses often have a lower floor that opens onto the slope, and a rat can enter that floor from the slope without being seen from the street. The walk checks the lower wall and the slope beside it.

A house with a long flight of outdoor steps on the slope has wood contacts along its length. Each step and post is marked, and the report recommends the clearance that is needed.